Esi grabbed her shoulder. “No apologies needed. I get to spend a night with Dominik.”
“You love him?” Iskra asked.
“Very much,” she responded, and there was sadness in her eyes. “I would give it all up to be with him, but I understand my responsibility to the court.”
“How did you know you loved him?”
Esi smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing. “Love isn’t complicated. It was a sensation in my chest at first. Then, it was the realization of how much I would risk to spend any second I could with him. It was taking that chance with you to continuefostering that love until our time ran out. It was understanding that the best thing I can do once I marry Jasyn is to let Dominik go so he could find love again, even if it wasn’t with me.”
Iskra wiped the tears in her eyes. “I kissed him,” she admitted.
“Jasyn?” Esi asked, so simply, so nonchalantly.
Iskra nodded. “I’m sorry. I understand if that is too far and you change your mind.”
But Esi shook her head. “You deserve to experience that all-consuming love too. Fuck him if you must.”
Iskra opened and closed her mouth at the vulgarity. “Are you not mad?”
“Honestly, I pity you. You have spent your life locked up with no opportunity tofeel. Take this opportunity, grasp it, let it squeeze every emotion from your heart.” Esi tightened her hand to a fist. “Jasyn and I will never be a love-match. Plus, I’m not being so innocent right now either.” Her eyes twinkled, and Iskra looked over Esi’s shoulders to where Bron’s eyes were downcast.
“I don’t know if we’ll go that far, but it has been one of the most freeing sensations to fall for this man. I appreciate you giving this to me.”
Esi winked. “Women are not meant for cages. We are meant to soar.”
Eleven
Jasyn fidgeted with the cuffs of his sleeves. It was a mesh fabric, hand-sewn with beads in the shape of flowers. It let the warm breeze through, and although most days, he would feel shy, today was the perfect occasion for such an ostentatious garment.
The yearly party thrown by the royal family was a celebration for all, a time to let loose before the possibility that, a few weeks later, the court could burn to the ground.
It was also a way for the royal family to experience the extravagance of royalty one last time in case the competing royal lost and a new person took over. His parents did not hold back. The castle workers spent days cleaning every glass surface, scrubbing the stone floors, and decorating every inch of the grounds.
Jasyn tried not thinking about that aspect of it, how in a few short days, this castle might no longer be his home. It’s all he knew, and saying goodbye would break him. Instead of chasing those thoughts, he was standing on the bottom of the stairs like adog, waiting for Esi to appear. It would be a long day and night, and he couldn’t wait to spend it with her.
“Don’t be nervous,” Mych teased.
“Shouldn’t you be wooing Bron?” Jasyn snapped back, and his guard shook his head as he laughed.
“The wooing will commence as soon as you and Esi are at each other’s hips.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means…it’s like pulling a stubborn weed from the dirt when it comes to separating you two.”
Jasyn scoffed. “That’s ridiculous.”
“But true.”
Jasyn was ready to fight the notion further, but footsteps sounded on the stone stairs.
Esi gripped the railing tightly, but he barely noticed her wobbling. She was a vision before him. She wore a long ivory silk dress, her train sweeping behind her. It had short, fluttering sleeves that bounced as she moved. It would have been shapeless, save for the porcelain corset at her waist. It had a marbled effect of reds, oranges, and yellows, a picture of the sun up close. Her hair was down in waves, embellished with clips that looked like the ruby gemstone of the Heart.
“Close your mouth,” were Mych’s parting words.
Jasyn shook himself out of the fog. “You look…breathtaking.” Breathtaking wasn’t enough to describe Esi’s beauty. She radiated, and he could do nothing but stare in awe.
She played with the beading on his sleeves. “You look handsome.”
